At Acushnet Elementary, it's all about 'Whirled Peace'

That's what took place Sept. 21 at the the Acushnet Elementary School, where students and staff participated in the "Pinwheels for Peace" project.

According to its website, Pinwheels for Peace is an art installation project started in 2005 by Ann Ayers and Ellen McMillan, who were art teachers at Monarch High School in Coconut Creek, Florida, as a way for their students to express their feelings about what’s going on in the world and in their lives.

"The project was quickly embraced by their students and the entire school community and by millions of art teachers, teachers, parents, children and adults who desire peace in our world," the website said.

The first Pinwheels for Peace were installed on Sept. 21, 2005, with 500,000 pinwheels planted the first year.

By last year, that number had spun up to four million pinwheels, the website said.

Organizers also stressed that "This is not political. Peace doesn’t necessarily have to be associated with the conflict of war, it can be related to violence/intolerance in our daily lives, to peace of mind.

"To each of us, peace can take on a different meaning, but, in the end, it all comes down to a simple definition: a state of calm and serenity, with no anxiety, the absence of violence, freedom from conflict or disagreement among people or groups of people."

That certainly sounds like a good world to live in, doesn't it? In the meantime, enjoy these pinwheels created by the Acushnet Elementary students and captured by Standard-Times Photographer Peter Pereira.

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